Philippe Coutinho Hands In Liverpool Transfer Request

Philippe Coutinho has issued Liverpool with an official transfer request following the owners’ statement that he is not for sale.

On Wednesday, the Reds rejected a £100 million euros bid (£90m) from Barcelona for the 25-year-old, who is out of Saturday’s trip to Watford with injury.

In a statement on Friday, the club’s owners said its “definitive stance” was that “no offers will be considered”.

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Later on Friday, a close family member of Coutinho’s told Sky Sports News: “Philippe has tried very hard to find an amicable solution to this situation but to no avail.

“He has tremendous love for the club and its fans, but like Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez have pointed out in the past, Liverpool does not let its players leave on amicable terms.”

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Coutinho, who scored 14 goals in all competitions last season, signed a new five-year deal in January that did not include a release clause. He joined Liverpool from Inter Milan for £8.5m in 2013.

It is understood Barcelona are prepared to pay up to £110m for Coutinho, who signed a new five-and-a-half-year contract at Liverpool in January, but FSG’s statement had seemed to clear up his future.

“The club’s definitive stance is that no offers for Philippe will be considered and he will remain a member of Liverpool Football Club when the summer window closes,” the FSG statement read, issued prior to Coutinho’s transfer request.

Barcelona have also had a bid rejected for Borussia Dortmund’s 20-year-old forward Ousmane Dembele since they sold Brazil forward Neymar to Paris St-Germain for a world record £200m last week.

The German club confirmed they met Barca representatives but the offer did not meet their valuation of the France international.